xmas book 25|More Precious Than Gold

More Precious Than Gold (Paperback) by Gillian Lobel, Julie Monks (Illustrator)
Book Description
Overhead the night sky blazed with a million stars. But Caspar's star was different... Old Melchior the wise, Balthazar the good and Caspar the youngest, kind and gentle, journey to Bethlehem to discover the promise of this exciting star - the child born to be King of Kings. A touching and poetic story which captures the true meaning of Christmas.

Reason why I recommend this book...
This has got to be one of the best stories of Christmas. A tale of the journey of the three wise men who saw a star and followed it to see the King.

xmas book 24|I See A Star

I See A Star (Hardcover)
by Jean Marzollo, Suse Macdonald (Illustrator)
Book Description
This simple story about a group of children getting ready for a Christmas pageant is told entirely in rebus form. Bold, colorful graphics represent a question and a reply on left-side pages; a picture on the facing page clearly illustrates the action. For example, the translated icons on one page "read": "Can you see three kings? I see three kings." The accompanying picture shows three children donning their robes and crowns. An easy-to-follow key and recognizable artwork work well in tandem to present a clear, repetitive tale for emerging readers.

Reason why I recommend this book...
This book is written in such a way as that even non-readers can "read" the Christmas story.

Advent06|24

24 - Create our own christmas plates :D

John 5:30-47

30 I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.

Witnesses to Jesus

31 “If I were to testify on my own behalf, my testimony would not be valid. 32 But someone else is also testifying about me, and I assure you that everything he says about me is true. 33 In fact, you sent investigators to listen to John the Baptist, and his testimony about me was true. 34 Of course, I have no need of human witnesses, but I say these things so you might be saved. 35 John was like a burning and shining lamp, and you were excited for a while about his message. 36 But I have a greater witness than John—my teachings and my miracles. The Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself. You have never heard his voice or seen him face to face, 38 and you do not have his message in your hearts, because you do not believe me—the one he sent to you.

39 “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! 40 Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.

41 “Your approval means nothing to me, 42 because I know you don’t have God’s love within you. 43 For I have come to you in my Father’s name, and you have rejected me. Yet if others come in their own name, you gladly welcome them. 44 No wonder you can’t believe! For you gladly honor each other, but you don’t care about the honor that comes from the one who alone is God.

45 “Yet it isn’t I who will accuse you before the Father. Moses will accuse you! Yes, Moses, in whom you put your hopes. 46 If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. 47 But since you don’t believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?”

Advent06|23

23 - footspa - give our feet some special treatment

Luke 1:67-80

Zechariah’s Prophecy

67 Then his father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy:

68 “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has visited and redeemed his people.
69 He has sent us a mighty Savior
from the royal line of his servant David,
70 just as he promised
through his holy prophets long ago.
71 Now we will be saved from our enemies
and from all who hate us.
72 He has been merciful to our ancestors
by remembering his sacred covenant—
73 the covenant he swore with an oath
to our ancestor Abraham.
74 We have been rescued from our enemies
so we can serve God without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness
for as long as we live.

76 “And you, my little son,
will be called the prophet of the Most High,
because you will prepare the way for the Lord.
77 You will tell his people how to find salvation
through forgiveness of their sins.
78 Because of God’s tender mercy,
the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us,
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
and to guide us to the path of peace.”

80 John grew up and became strong in spirit. And he lived in the wilderness until he began his public ministry to Israel.

xmas book 23|The Manger Where Jesus Lay

The Manger Where Jesus Lay (Paperback)
by Martha Larchar, Karen Clark (illustrator)

Reason why I recommend this book...
This is a wonderful little book for reading to your children. It has a simple premise of building the story. Each page adds a new line, with a key word represented by a picture. Once they learn what each picture stands for, you will find that your kids will be able to recite the entire sentence. The topic of the book is the Christmas story, but we read it all year round.

Advent06|22

22 - Go out for a special lunch at Breakers

John 3:16-21

16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. 19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”

xmas book 22|Mary's Baby

Mary's Baby (Hardcover)
by Jane Chapman (Author)

Book Description
A simply told version of the story of Jesus, written and illustrated by Jane Chapman.

Reason why I recommend this book...
Written in a simple to understand way, this Christmas story is fun for preschoolers to hear and understand. The illustrations are beautiful.

Advent06|21

21 - Fondue night - Yummy chocolate dipped goodies!

John 7:53-8:11

[The most ancient Greek manuscripts do not include John 7:53–8:11.]
53 Then the meeting broke up, and everybody went home.
John 8
A Woman Caught in Adultery
Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, 2 but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. 3 As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.

4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”

6 They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.

9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”

11 “No, Lord,” she said.
And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

xmas book 21|Pavlova & Presents

Pavlova & Presents
by John Parker, Linda McClelland (illustrator)

Reason why I recommend this book...
This book is about your typical Kiwi Christmas. Family, food, beach, sun... It's one of my girls favourites and we read it last night during our advent activity of "reading Christmas stories!" The kid's just LOVE the fact that it is like their own Christmas experience. And I love Pavlova, you can get a great recipe for it over on my food blog.

Advent06|20

20 - Story-time [everyone get's to pick their favourite Christmas story]

(we also went to see the Christmas lights around Manukau - the joy on the kid's faces was priceless, but we forgot to take a camera with us :( )

Matthew 11:1-12

Jesus and John the Baptist

1 When Jesus had finished giving these instructions to his twelve disciples, he went out to teach and preach in towns throughout the region.

2 John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, 3 “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?”

4 Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen—5 the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. 6 And tell him, ‘God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.’”

7 As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began talking about him to the crowds. “What kind of man did you go into the wilderness to see? Was he a weak reed, swayed by every breath of wind? 8 Or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people with expensive clothes live in palaces. 9 Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet. 10 John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say,

‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
and he will prepare your way before you.’

11 “I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is! 12 And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it.

xmas book 20|The Noisy Stable

Noisy Stable (Storyteller Tales) [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

by Hartman

Book Description
A new range of thematically arranged collections of some of master storyteller Bob Hartman's best-loved folk and traditional tales. The contents are derived from the best-selling The Lion Storyteller Christmas Book. This volume contains six Bible stories about the first Christmas retold with freshness, verve and humour. It has a cover in series style - including the cute Storyteller Tales logo - and line illustrations accompany the text throughout.

Reason why I recommend this book...
This book is full of fun re-tellings of traditional Christmas stories. My children enjoyed listening and reading it for themselves.

Advent06|19

19 - Dance like crazy to Christmas Music

Matthew 3:1-12

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1 In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, 2 “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” 3 The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said,

“He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!
Clear the road for him!’”

4 John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey. 5 People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John. 6 And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.

7 But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize, he denounced them. “You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee God’s coming wrath? 8 Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. 9 Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. 10 Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.

11 “I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.”

xmas book 19|A Silent Night

A Silent Night Luke 2: 8-20 (Christmas) (Paperback)
by Mary Manz Simon, Dennis Jones (Illustrator)

Book Description
Retells for beginning readers the events surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ.

Reason why I recommend this book...
A simple book that beginning readers can read for themselves.

Advent06|18

18 - Begin opening the boxes in "What God Wants for Christmas"

Mark 1:1-8

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1 This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. It began 2 just as the prophet Isaiah had written:

“Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
and he will prepare your way.
3 He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!
Clear the road for him!’”

4 This messenger was John the Baptist. He was in the wilderness and preached that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. 5 All of Judea, including all the people of Jerusalem, went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. 6 His clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey.

7 John announced: “Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!”

xmas book 18|No Tree for Christmas

No Tree for Christmas (Me Too!) (Hardcover)

by Marilyn Lashbrook

Book Description
An illustrated retelling of the nativity of Christ. Includes questions for the reader to answer throughout the text.

Reason why I recommend this book...
A great book to bring children back to the real story of Christmas.

Advent06|17

17 - Make some Chrissy Decorations

Luke 22:54-69

Peter Denies Jesus

54 So they arrested him and led him to the high priest’s home. And Peter followed at a distance. 55 The guards lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter joined them there. 56 A servant girl noticed him in the firelight and began staring at him. Finally she said, “This man was one of Jesus’ followers!”

57 But Peter denied it. “Woman,” he said, “I don’t even know him!”

58 After a while someone else looked at him and said, “You must be one of them!”

“No, man, I’m not!” Peter retorted.

59 About an hour later someone else insisted, “This must be one of them, because he is a Galilean, too.”

60 But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.

61 At that moment the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Suddenly, the Lord’s words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.” 62 And Peter left the courtyard, weeping bitterly.

63 The guards in charge of Jesus began mocking and beating him. 64 They blindfolded him and said, “Prophesy to us! Who hit you that time?” 65 And they hurled all sorts of terrible insults at him.

Jesus before the Council

66 At daybreak all the elders of the people assembled, including the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. Jesus was led before this high council, 67 and they said, “Tell us, are you the Messiah?”

But he replied, “If I tell you, you won’t believe me. 68 And if I ask you a question, you won’t answer. 69 But from now on the Son of Man will be seated in the place of power at God’s right hand.”

xmas book 17|Hettie's Christmas Gift

Hettie's Christmas Gift
by Bernice Screech, Rita Parkinson (illustrator)

Book Description
It's summertime in Dolphin Bay, and Hettie has just received some exciting news from the other side of the world. She has a new grandson! Hettie decides to paint him a very special Christmas picture... but what to paint?

Reason why I recommend this book...
This is a great down-under Christmas story. Here in the Southern Hemisphere we have Christmas in Summer, no snow just beaches and bbq's.

Advent06|16

16 - Fish & Chips for dinner down at the beach

Luke 22:39-53

Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives

39 Then, accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives. 40 There he told them, “Pray that you will not give in to temptation.”

41 He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” 43 Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. 44 He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.

45 At last he stood up again and returned to the disciples, only to find them asleep, exhausted from grief. 46 “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation.”

Jesus Is Betrayed and Arrested

47 But even as Jesus said this, a crowd approached, led by Judas, one of the twelve disciples. Judas walked over to Jesus to greet him with a kiss. 48 But Jesus said, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”

49 When the other disciples saw what was about to happen, they exclaimed, “Lord, should we fight? We brought the swords!” 50 And one of them struck at the high priest’s slave, slashing off his right ear.

51 But Jesus said, “No more of this.” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.

52 Then Jesus spoke to the leading priests, the captains of the Temple guard, and the elders who had come for him. “Am I some dangerous revolutionary,” he asked, “that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? 53 Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there every day. But this is your moment, the time when the power of darkness reigns.”

xmas book 16|Crispin: The Pig Who Had It All

Crispin: The Pig Who Had It All (Paperback)
by Ted Dewan (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
Ages 4-7. Crispin Tamworth is a rich little pig who has so many toys and gadgets that he breaks them almost as fast as they arrive. But one Christmas he gets only an empty box from Santa. He's furious at the slight, but even angrier when he sees two children playing with the thrown-away box. When the kids explain they are playing Space Base, Crispin is first puzzled, then a happy participant. When rain reduces the box to a soggy mess, he thinks his friends won't come over anymore. But they do, and they make magic with all the broken junk in Crispin's room. When the housekeeper clears out his room, Crispin again thinks he'll be left alone, but a cardboard box in the garden makes new fun. Here's a familiar theme, made fresh and funny thanks to a witty yet heartfelt text and eye-popping art. The bright, shiny pictures and an imaginative design show off the big-eared Crispin and his exuberant animal friends to their best advantage. The art is stuffed with enticing detail, especially bits of the broken toys that litter almost every page. A wonderful book to start some discussion at story hour--or just for fun.

Reason why I recommend this book...
This book is just so much fun to read. A tale of what is important in life (not things, but friends). :D

Advent06|15

15 - Campout around the Christmas tree

Note: - Hope isn't all that well :( She has some sort of virus, but at least this activity wasn't too strenuous!

John 3:22-30

John the Baptist Exalts Jesus

22 Then Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem and went into the Judean countryside. Jesus spent some time with them there, baptizing people.

23 At this time John the Baptist was baptizing at Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there; and people kept coming to him for baptism. 24 (This was before John was thrown into prison.) 25 A debate broke out between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over ceremonial cleansing. 26 So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.”

27 John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. 28 You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’ 29 It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the best man is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. 30 He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.